A strange occurrence

This is the "trail" I take my almost daily walk on. It's actually a road. Today, I encountered a woman who was walking ahead of me in the middle of the road. I said a cheery hello as I passed. She apparently hadn't been aware of me behind her. She acted as if I had shived her with a knife. She gasped, crunched and walked to the side of the road as if recovering from trauma. I thought she was going to vomit. She acted stunned.

The reason? Covid fear. I came too close to her.

I did nothing wrong. Just let her know I was passing. But she isn't the only woman I have encountered who has pulled up their mask or gotten off the trail and turned their backs for fear of Covid.

It's my belief that getting Covid in the great outdoors like we are is almost impossible. Yet some are so afraid.

I do my best to avoid the virus but I refuse to live in fear.